Shipping Antiques Home from Hong Kong

Checked 27 October 2026: the permit, insurance and import-tax details below were re-read from official Hong Kong Government, Hongkong Post and HMRC pages on that date. Fees and lead times are administrative and can change, so confirm them before you ship. Only the United Kingdom and New Zealand routes described here were verified; other destination rules were not.

You have just bought something at Cat Street. The piece is wrapped, the vendor is happy, and now the practical questions start: can it go on the plane, will it be insured, what paperwork does anyone actually want to see, and who carries it? This guide answers those four questions using official Hong Kong and UK sources, and it flags the one trap that catches most buyers — courier insurance that quietly excludes antiques.

Quick answer

Carrying it yourself: antiques are not on Hong Kong Customs' list of prohibited or controlled articles for travellers.
Posting it: Hongkong Post's Speedpost Insurance Service excludes antiques from cover entirely.
To the UK or New Zealand, item over 100 years old: Hong Kong's Trade and Industry Department runs a statutory-declaration endorsement service for exactly this case — apply at least 4 working days before shipment, fee HK$513.
Arriving in the UK: antiques and works of art attract a reduced import VAT rate of 5%, and UK rules define "antiques" as items over 100 years old.

Carry, courier or freight

There is no single right answer, and the decision is mostly about value, fragility and how much paperwork you are willing to do. As a departing passenger, the important Hong Kong fact is what is not required: antiques do not appear on Hong Kong Customs' list of commonly found prohibited and controlled articles for passenger clearance, which covers drugs, dangerous goods, arms and ammunition, fireworks, strategic commodities, rough diamonds, animals and plants, endangered species, telecommunications equipment, and meat, poultry, eggs, rice and powdered formula.

Read the list yourself before you fly. Hong Kong Customs publishes the passenger list at customs.gov.hk, and a cargo-side list of prohibited articles is linked from it. Rules are checked by the destination country, not only Hong Kong, so a piece that leaves Hong Kong freely can still meet an import condition on arrival.

Route	Good for	What to watch out for
Hand-carry in your own baggage	Small, robust pieces; anything you would rather not lose sight of	No Hong Kong export paperwork is involved for a passenger, but your airline's own restrictions, baggage limits and the destination's import rules still apply.
Post (Hongkong Post)	Low-value, non-fragile items only	Speedpost insurance will not cover an antique at all (see below), and prohibited articles are refused or detained.
Courier (express integrator)	Larger pieces, tracked door-to-door delivery	Cover and value limits are the carrier's own — check them for your declared value rather than assuming.
Specialist antique / fine-art courier broker	High-value, fragile, glazed or painted pieces	These firms advertise export packing, customs clearance and separate high-value insurance priced as a percentage of declared value. That description comes from the brokers' own sales material, not from a government source — treat their terms as commercial claims and read the policy.

The insurance trap: Speedpost will not cover antiques

This is the single most useful thing on this page. Hongkong Post's Speedpost Insurance Service excludes antiques from cover. The exclusion list on the postal operator's own insurance page names antiques alongside animals, bullion, currency, fine jewellery, crystal, stones and minerals, precious metals, and similar valuables. In practice that means a valuable antique sent by Speedpost travels uninsured by default, whatever you thought the service covered.

Postal rules bite in a second way, too. Hongkong Post prohibits posting anything barred by section 32(1) of the Post Office Ordinance (Cap. 98), or by the import rules of the destination country. Items detected in the post are refused or detained, and the sender may be prosecuted. If in doubt about a particular piece, ask at a post office counter before you seal the box.

Going to the UK or New Zealand: the statutory declaration

Here is where Hong Kong is unusually helpful. The Trade and Industry Department (TID) runs a statutory-declaration endorsement service for antique articles over 100 years old being exported from Hong Kong to the United Kingdom or New Zealand. The endorsed declaration exists so the buyer can claim import tax exemption at the other end. The dealer, or a representative, makes the declaration.

Step	Detail
Timing	Apply at least 4 working days before shipment. The consignment must be kept at the declared location in case Customs and Excise officers inspect it.
Forms	Declaration Form TRA 541 — a full description of the antique plus the name and address of the overseas importer — together with application form TRA 343.
Sworn before	An authorised person: a Justice of the Peace, a Notary Public, a Commissioner for Oaths in the High Court, or the Commissioner for Oaths at TID.
Fee	HK$513 per application, payable in cash, by crossed cheque to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region", or electronically.
Where	Factory Registration and Origin Certification Branch, Trade and Industry Department.
Getting it back	The endorsed photocopy is normally ready for collection four clear working days after receipt of the application; you then send it to the overseas importer to present to customs in the UK or New Zealand.

Scope limit: this service covers the UK and New Zealand only. There is no verified equivalent Hong Kong declaration route for other destinations, so do not assume one exists.

UK import VAT on antiques: 5%

At the other end, HMRC applies a reduced rate of import VAT of 5% to works of art, antiques and collectors' items imported into Great Britain. For UK tax purposes, "antiques" means goods over 100 years old. That is the exemption the TID declaration above supports — the paperwork is what lets the importer claim the reduced rate rather than the standard one. Rates and definitions are HMRC's, so check the current guidance before you rely on it for a purchase.

If you use a courier: the DHL threshold

Express carriers do carry antiques, contrary to a common claim that no international courier will touch them. DHL Express's own Hong Kong prohibited and restricted items page restricts antique, works-of-art and fine-art shipments only where the shipment value exceeds EUR 500,000. Below that threshold the restriction is not the obstacle — the real questions become the carrier's packaging standards and how much cover you can buy for the declared value.

Packing a piece so it survives the trip

Packing advice is not regulated, so treat this as a checklist rather than a rulebook. What follows is standard practice for ceramics, jade and metalware:

Wrap the object in tissue first, then bubble wrap. A soft inner layer stops glaze and carved detail rubbing against the bubble film.
Immobilise anything that moves. Lids, stands, handles and fitted inserts should be separately wrapped so they cannot knock against the body of the piece.
Double-box it. The outer box should not touch the inner one; fill the gap with scrunched paper, foam or air pillows so the inner box cannot shift when you shake the parcel.
Photograph everything before you close the box. Photographs of the piece, its condition and the packed carton are what an insurer or carrier will ask for first if something arrives broken.
Keep the paperwork with the shipment. Receipts, the vendor's description, and any endorsed declaration photocopy belong inside the package as well as in your own records.

Who actually moves it

Three kinds of operator handle this trade in Hong Kong: the postal operator, the express courier companies, and specialist antique and fine-art brokers who offer export packing, customs clearance and separate high-value cover. If you bought in an established shop rather than a stall, ask the dealer which forwarder they already use — a dealer who exports regularly will have a working relationship and will know which paperwork the destination actually asks for. Nothing on this page is a recommendation of any particular company; no Cat Street vendor is named here.

FAQ

Can I take an antique on the plane from Hong Kong?

Antiques are not on Hong Kong Customs' list of prohibited or controlled articles for passenger clearance, so there is no Hong Kong customs approval involved in carrying one out. Your airline's baggage rules and your destination's import rules are separate matters you still have to satisfy.

Will Hongkong Post insure my antique?

No. Speedpost's insurance service explicitly excludes antiques from cover, listing them with jewellery, bullion, precious metals, crystal and stones. Post a valuable antique and you are effectively shipping it uninsured.

Do I need an export permit from Hong Kong?

No Hong Kong export permit appears in any of the official sources this guide relies on. The TID declaration described above is about the importer's tax exemption, not about permission to export, and Hong Kong Customs does not list antiques among the articles controlled for passengers.

What does the UK 5% import VAT cover?

Works of art, antiques and collectors' items imported into Great Britain attract import VAT at the reduced rate of 5%, and UK rules define antiques as items over 100 years old. The TID statutory declaration for a piece over 100 years old is what supports that claim on arrival.

Is there a courier that carries antiques?

Yes. DHL Express's Hong Kong restricted-items page limits antique, works-of-art and fine-art shipments only above EUR 500,000 in value. The open question for most buyers is insurance cover for the declared value, not carriage.

What about shipping to the US or the EU?

We have not verified import tax treatment for any destination other than the United Kingdom, and the Hong Kong statutory declaration service described here covers the UK and New Zealand only. Check your own country's customs guidance directly.

Official sources used on this page

Keep reading

Cat Street Shopping Guide — prices, haggling and quality checks before you buy.
Hong Kong Antique Authentication Guide — confirm what you have before you spend money moving it.
Cat Street opening hours — plan the visit that starts all of this.